Alice Brown Caine ( Brown; also known as Mrs. W. S. Caine; February 21, 1849 – January 28, 1918) was an English temperance leader. She served as president of the

Women's Total Abstinence Union Women's Total Abstinence Union (WTAU) was a British women's organization active during the temperance movement in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters were at 4 Ludgate Hill, London. In addition to a president, there were 41 vice-presidents. The ge ...

, the Liverpool Ladies' Temperance Association, and the Deaconesses' National Total Abstinence League.

Early life and education

Alice Brown was born in Liverpool, England, February 21, 1849. A daughter of Alice Chibnal Brown (nee Sirett; 1821-1863) and the Baptist preacher, the Rev.

Hugh Stowell Brown Hugh Stowell Brown (10 August 1823 – 24 February 1886) was a Manx Christian minister and renowned preacher. Hugh Stowell Brown was a preacher, pastor and social reformer in Liverpool in the nineteenth century. His public lectures and work am ...

(1823-1886), she developed a profound sympathy with the efforts against the liquor traffic. Caine had six younger siblings, Robert, Hugh, John, Dora, Bertha, and Eleanor. She was educated privately in Liverpool.

Career

In 1868, she married

William Sproston Caine William Sproston Caine (26 March 1842 – 17 March 1903) was a British politician and temperance advocate. Biography Caine was born at Seacombe, Cheshire, and was the eldest surviving son of Nathaniel Caine, a metal merchant from Cheshire, and w ...

, a prominent iron merchant and active temperance leader, and afterward Member of Parliament. A painting by Edwin Long of Mrs. Caine and her eldest daughter hung in the dining room of the family home in Clapham Common. The couple devoted time, energy, and their substantial means to the cause. At

Wheatsheaf Hall The Wheatsheaf Hall is a former Congregational Church mission hall in Vauxhall, south London. It is a grade II listed building. The earliest reference of the building was a small villa in 1880, which was brought by Mr. William Sproston Caine. A ...

, a mission building opened in South Lambeth by Mr. Caine about 1884 and rebuilt in 1898 at a cost of , Mrs. Caine conducted a large mothers’ meeting there, and was otherwise unceasingly active at that Hall, including the Alice Caine Tent of the Independent Order of Rechabites, Caine was introduced and spoke briefly at the Third Biennial Convention and Executive Committee Meetings of the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union in London in June 1895, where she represented the Girls' Guild of Good Life. She was affiliated with a number of temperance organizations, becoming president of the Women's Total Abstinence Union, and also of the Auxiliary of the Free Church Council. Caine was also an active member of the Committee of the Young Abstainers' Union, besides holding membership and official relations in various other subordinate organizations; for example, Caine served as president of Deaconesses' National Total Abstinence League, federated to the Women's Total Abstinence Union. One of her most responsible positions was that of treasurer of the Anglo-Indian Temperance Association, of which her husband was the founder; and she assumed that additional office after his death in 1903. An interesting and convincing lecturer, she also wielded influence in the various social circles where much of her effective work was done.

Personal life

Mr. and Mrs. Caine had five children: * Hannah Caine Roberts, who married John Herbert Roberts, M.P., Denbighshire * Dorothea ("Dora") Caine, M.D., Medical Officer, Victoria Hospital for Children,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

; honorary appointments in connection with the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

and the New Hospital for Women, London *

Ruth Herbert Lewis Ruth Herbert Lewis (29 November 1871 – 26 August 1946, née Caine) was an English temperance movement activist of Manx descent and collector of Welsh folk songs. She published collections of Welsh folk songs, and was a key member of the Wels ...

, English temperance activist and collector of Welsh folk songs, who married John Herbert Lewis, M.P., Flintshire * William Caine, author * David Caine Alice Brown Caine died in London, January 28, 1918. A memorial service was held in her honor at Wheatsheaf Hall on February 10, 1918.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caine, Alice Brown 1849 births 1918 deaths English temperance activists People from Liverpool